Month: October 2018

I recently lost a dear friend, to kidney failure and blood transfusion complications. It was heart-wrenching. This guy was a quiet, gentle and focused giant, with a ready smile for every occasion. He was cut short in his prime, and left behind no wife or child – another pain-point for me. This brought on a lot of memories, of reaching out to old friends and trying to evaluate if I am actually living my purpose.

Some days ago, I stumbled on the word “Ikigai”. Wikipedia told me that

Ikigai (生き甲斐,) is a Japanese term for “a reason for being.” The word ‘Ikigai’ is usually refers to the source of value in one’s life or the things that make one’s life worthwhile.[1] The word roughly translates to the “thing that you live for”[2] but it also has the nuance of “the reason for which you wake up in the morning” similar to a daily purpose.[3] Each individual’s ikigai is personal to them and specific to their lives, values and beliefs. It reflects the inner self of an individual and expresses that faithfully, while simultaneously creating a mental state in which the individual feels at ease. Activities that allow one to feel ikigai are never forced on an individual; they are often spontaneous, and always undertaken willingly, giving the individual satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life.[1]

Then I found Thomas Oppong’s Medium article on the subject and understood a lot more. Thomas mentions Dan Buettner (who deserves another article on his own, about how he has made his passion his work), who studied hotspots of places where people lived the longest, and published books on this, with titles that included the phrase “Blue Zone”.

Buettner has been able to prove that applying his Blue Zone Principles to cities can improve the overall health and lifespan of its inhabitants. The key to success involved focusing on the ecology of health – creating a healthy environment rather than relying on individual behaviors. His first try in 2008, in Albert Lea, Minnesota was successful. Other cities and communities have applied the principles successfully too.

I know these applications happened in cities in a developed country (USA), but it got me thinking: what if we could work towards creating that healthy environment in Nigeria? What if we could study the principles, and herald it to our leaders for them to use as blueprints for the next four years?

They say that our country is so unique, no theory works out of the box in it, and I agree. What if we could derive a Nigerian version, that will also allow a family on any income level to embrace the tenets that would guarantee better health, and longer, more fulfilling lives?

The Blue Zone Principles promise results in such a short time, I wonder why we have not given it a try before now. If only our leaders were readers more often than spenders. I guess we can decide the next set, come 2019 – if our votes truly count.

As for me, I am going to spend a bit of time each day, trying to figure out a way to bring this about in my environment. Do you know anyone who can help kickstart a movement?

The Story

A month ago I was fortunate enough to put my hands on Pace Headphones, brand new, just me me. For a long time I had been thinking about my migration to headphones from my iPhone earphones which mainly because of design and by this i mean either the earphones or my ears or both. If its my ears, I am not ready to blame God, I mean it is what it is. But if it’s the earphones than somebody at apple should be fired.

So then my most trusted team worried about the money, they discussed numbers in small tones on the same table I was sitting and all I needed to do was ditch my earphones with instructions to make the big package.

Many people don’t know what it means to own a new Porser, and I mean brand new….myself included. But I have been privileged to be close to someone who does. When you buy a new Porser from the dealership in Nairobi, you get a welcome letter, more like a certificate, or a thank you note from the Chairman welcoming you to the club just for blowing a few millions you know.

So there I was, after blowing $50 my wife needed for other important stuff and sure (women always have important stuff to buy other than headphones) I was standing with my package in my hands. A solid box with beautiful design…….giving apple a run for their money.

I opened the box, its not easy to open…..not the kind of box you just reap apart, this is different. Box aside I meet the case, black with a yellow zip and on top it just says Hallo Pace…….this reminded me the high days of Motorolla. The first thing I saw after I opened the case was a letter from the Pace Designer, Givinalis Omachar.

I tell you, I have never owned a new Porser, but at this point I felt like I was in the history of something great, maybe not like the Porser but something great. Then I figured how bluetooth works, you press a button and hold……..the headphones speak “welcome to the world of pace” holding on to the button it says “Pace is ready to pair”. And just like that I was in a different world.

Sound Quality

First I must say, if you are trying your new place I recommend some of my favorite songs, Inner City Blues by Rodriguez, Concrete Jungle by Bob Marley and Mr Tambourine by Bob Dylan. The Pace Focus delivers sound details I previously did not hear with my normal earphones. In a well-produced song, you can hear all the vocals, the bass is just right, not too much to ruin the song, the instrumentals are clear and it does not sound like they are all fighting for your attention. I could only describe the sound coming off the Pace Focus as warm, loud and beautiful.

For those who do not fancy Bluetooth, Pace includes quite a long 3.5mm AUX cable to serve you, which is neat.

Battery Life

If you are like me, who is not employed by nobody to keep charging your gadgets every time then Pace is your baby. These things last forever on a single charge. Pace says that they should last you well around 35 hours of continuous use and I have no arguments with that, I have not used it for 35 straight hours. But still I have never been disappointed in the middle of a song and it decreard its death. I have noticed though the few times I am charging it, it takes a really short time.

Design

Saving the best for last. The headphones are made out of hard plastic, but they still exhibit some quality. This might not sound well with you but, spending more than a month with my pair, I have no doubts. There’s a little flex when you bend the headphones, that’s expected of anything with this kind of material but it does not feel cheap at all. The Pace Focus has two buttons both of which are on the right side. One button controls the on/off switch and the other controls the headphone’s volume. The volume rockers can be used to skip or go to the previous song when long pressed, double pressing the power button, pauses the playing song.

There’s also a tiny notification light between these two buttons, it’s easy to miss it, wish the size was a little bigger though. On the left side, there’s the 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB charging port. When put on, the headphones feel comfortable, not heavy on your head, easy to put on and remove.

The only downside on the design is that the headphones come in one colour, black. I do wish there were more colours to choose (maybe colors that would appeal to feminine) from but I guess black is the safest option since it goes with anything without looking hideous.

But hey, this is a good buy, maybe you will not like the same things that I liked, I must say for me…..I enjoy small pleasures, am always impressed with small things.

You might have noticed: we, Hagen and me are restoring an old house here in Fitou for our daughter Isabell and her husband Dick. Isabell and Dick helped as often as possible and together we did all the planning but currently they are travelling the world. The goal is to have to house at least ...

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